Once
again we look at some of the latest Blu-rays from the Classical Music
distributor Naxos including a surprise that
should soon get more attention.

As hard
as it is to believe, Anna Nicole Smith is now the subject of an Opera and not
just any opera Turnage’s Anna Nicole
(Opus Arte) was commissioned by no less that the Royal Opera House and makes
its debut as an examination of media gone wild and what a woman with nothing to
lose could make happen as unique opportunities came her way she took full
advantage of.Eva-Maria Westbrook plays
her in every stage of her adult life to amusing effect and the work pull few
punches, with more explicit language than most Opera fans might expect.For those unfamiliar with her story, this link
should give you an idea:

Though
not the usual prestigious piece in the usual manner, it is nice when it works
and a howler in several different ways (their mistake, irony they missed, irony
others would miss, etc.) when it does not quite work.The problem is that no opera has ever had to
deal with such overexposed material in the history of the art form, so that is
why many people will not even believe me when I tell them it happened.I wonder if this will catch on.Extras include a booklet on the Opera that
includes notes, while the Blu-ray adds a Cast Gallery and Production Insights.

Next we
have Simon Rattle returning to Blu-ray with the Europa Konzert from Madrid 2011 (EuroArts) with the Berliner
Philharmoniker and guest musician Canizares on guitar.The last time we covered Rattle was with the
Joaquin Achúcarro Blu-ray at this link:

That
leads to our other Rattle links.This
concert features works in concert by Emanuel Chabrier (España), Joaquin Rodrigo (Concerto
de Aranjuez) and the giant Sergei Rachmaninov (Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Opus 27) in a good show that almost
becomes uneven at times, but works. Extras include a booklet on the concert that
includes notes and bonus featurette running 8 minutes.

For the
second time we get a Leos Janacek work on Blu-ray as Janacek: Jenufa (aka Her Foster-Daughter, first performed
1904) follows Cunning Little Vixens
as covered at this link:

This
Teatro Real Madrid production is decent and might be too deconstructionist
and/or basic for some, but I still think it conveys an effective enough what
the author intended.Amanda Roocroft is
the title character (a woman alone wondering where her future lies and is about
to find out) backed by a fine singling cast, Stephane Braunschweig directs and
Ivor Bolton conducts the music.Extras
include a booklet on the concert that includes notes and technical information,
while the Blu-ray adds a Cast Gallery and Illustrated Synopsis of the work
itself.

And
finally we get what amounts to a third series of releases featuring
performances by Gustav Mahler, this time from the Accentus label in two
separate Blu-ray release of Mahler 2
and 8 by the Gewandhaus Orchester by Riccardo Chailly following these composers
with their own impressive Mahler showings starting at these links:

Though
these installments are good and competent as expected (in paperboard cases
instead of the usual blue plastic), they are not as good as the other entries
which tended to be richer, especially the Abbado series I really like.Still you could do worse and big fans will
still want to see and hear for themselves.Each has previews for other Blu-rays from the company and booklets on
the concerts.

The 1080i
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition transfers have motion blur and some other
depth limits, but I have to single out Europa
this time for even having more blur and break up image issues so if you have
problems it is not your HDTV or HD projector.All five releases have DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes with
solid playback, though nothing sonically exceptional and the Janacek release is a little more
limited than expected.All also offer
PCM 2.0 Stereo mixes, but they are not as good as the DTS-AA versions.